Sunil Mittal sees BSNL valuation at $30 billion

The government must explore the possibility of diluting its stake in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, to fund its social responsibilities, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group managing director, Bharti Enterprises, said today.

Mittal told reporters on the sidelines of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Mittal that BSNL, the largest telecom service provider in the country, could be valued at over $30 billion, and added that even if the government were to disinvest 15 per cent of its stake in BSNL, it could generate significant resources.

Recently, Vodafone had paid $1.5 billion to acquire 10 per cent stake in Bharti, raising its valuation to $15 billion.

He also added that Bharti is in talks with the aviation ministry to venture into privatisation of airports and expect a development soon. Mittal also added that, at present, nearly 1 per cent of the Indian GDP was accounted for by the telecommunications sector.

"The sector utilises 45-50,000 gensets, 50,000 shelters and 50,000 towers, said Mittal adding that it is this social impact that has made the group look at agri business as a new window of opportunity.

On Bharti's position on the new NLD licensing regime, he said the company would not pursue its earlier demand for compensation. "It (letter signed jointly by the three companies seeking a compensation of Rs 2,800 crore in case government cut licence fee and revenue share for long distance telephony) should never have gone," he said.

"It was an association of some people at the operating level... who felt that they had made a lot of investment and therefore they would be in for some difficulty." "We are looking at a refund of approximately Rs 90-100 crore between ILD and NLD licence", he added.